Club Archive - Help needed

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Hi,

I am a member of one of Spain's oldest golf clubs and have been proposed to lead the project of creating a proper club archive that stretches all the way to 1895.
Although I am very familiar with most of the current materials in the archive, I have no clue as to how to transform all of it into a well organized body of documents that can be called an archive, how to make it grow and make it accessible for members (and, maybe,  third parties).

I therefore would gladly accept some guidance with:

a) Clubs with good historical archives which I should contact and learn from
b) Individuals with experience in organizing a complete mess into an archive
c) Any other suggestions or ideas that can help me get started

Thanks in advance and regards from formerly sunny Spain,

[Mike Sweeney]

Yale had a great on-line archive but it was taken down. He may not see this as Yale is hosting the NCAA's next week but Colin Sheehan the Yale Coach post here and may have some insight. Contact him through his website:

http://punchbowlgolf.com/

CC of Waterbury has the best online history that I have seen. Dont have a contact but the website is:

http://www.ccwaterbury.com/club_history.php

[Mark Bourgeois]

Wm Kelly was one of the two who created the Yale archive.  The site was taken down but in the bargain we got a marvelous book.

Here's the link to Kelly's faculty page: http://www.yale.edu/anthro/people/wkelly.htm

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Thanks Mark & Mike,

I will check it out!!!!

Regards

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Alfonso, Greetings from cool England (meteorologically speaking, you understand). As someone who has had to work extensively with club archives as source material, I should say that the most useful thing you could do is to get everything comprehensively indexed and cross-referenced. If you can do this electronically so much the better. Mark.

[Phil_the_Author]

Alfonso,

I suggest that you get in touch with the history department at the university or college closest to your club. Ask them if they have any students who might be interested in being involved in a non-paying internship. Explain what you are attempting to do and how you are trying to save the history of the club and set up an archive for future generations. Tell them about the membership and how influential and helpful they may be in the future for any students who help. Many times, internships of this type can provide the students with class credits and real-world experience.

[Dale Jackson]

Alfonso,

I suggest that you get in touch with the history department at the university or college closest to your club. Ask them if they have any students who might be interested in being involved in a non-paying internship. Explain what you are attempting to do and how you are trying to save the history of the club and set up an archive for future generations. Tell them about the membership and how influential and helpful they may be in the future for any students who help. Many times, internships of this type can provide the students with class credits and real-world experience.

I agree with Philip and add my club's experience.  We offered a paid internship to students in archival studies.  The intern basically started from scratch and catalogued and cross referenced everything, insisted we obtain archival storage boxes and other materials, and located an off site storage facility.  By the end of the summer we had a professionally organized and stored archive, where four months previously we had an unholy mess.

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Mark,

We are already making sure that everything is electronically scanned and registered to avoid manipulation of originals. I guess that we'll have to make sure that cross-referencing is well done to ensure that everything is findable.

I find the suggestion of getting a college intern a very good one, as nobody in the club has any archival experience. Internships are not that common in Spain, so I hope I can get someone to give a hand for free (or close to free).

Thanks guys,

[Christoph Meister]

Hi Alfonso,

I can only suggest that you come to Cologne sooner than later and have a look at our "Deutsches Golf Archiv" - an archive set up jointly by the German Golf Federation and the "Deutsche Sporthochschule, Köln". The archive was founded during the year 2000 in order to recollect the history of Golf in Germany and in preparation of the centenary of the German Golf Federation in 2007, when an 800-pages four volume book "100 Jahre Golf in Deutschland" was published.

The manager Kuno Schuch is an expert and Germany's only professional golf archivist - he will certainly be delighted to show you around and give you a valuable insight into how to organise a golf archive, how to adequately store and treat historic documents and and and. There is also a golf historical expert named by the German Golf Federation for the Deutsches Golf Archiv - you'll be astonished who it is, but I can insure you he will also be delighted to help you out. Only last summer he was asked by his own home club (founded 1901/02) to have a look into their archives of his home club. So please feel free to contact me for further information through PM or e-mail.

Kind regards from Germany,

Christoph

For further information pls. also check http://golfarchiv.dshs-koeln.de/  (unfortunately mostly in German language only - but you'll still get an idea...)

[TEPaul]

Alfonso:

I just got a call from Wayne telling me we need to do everything possible to help you out. What can we do for you? Just name it.

[Willie_Dow]

Yes Tom - Those Merion archives are beyond recall - thanks to Wayne.

If I could only figure out how he does it my mess here at home would be organized.

[Forrest Richardson]

Alfonso,

I am happy to send you some examples. Please e-mail me as I rarely check my messages here.

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